Welcome to one of the treasures of Western North Carolina. Nestled in the shadow of Cold Mountain in Waynesville, North Carolina, The HART Theatre, founded in 1985, is a semi-professional community theatre showcasing the talents of the people of the region and beyond.

The Performing Arts Center opened in 1997, funded by the support of people throughout the community, HART’s home is a stunning facility constructed in the style of the traditional Summer Stock playhouses of the 1920’s.  In the fall of 2016 HART completed its next major expansion, the Fangmeyer Theater, a flexible space that includes Harmons’ Den Bistro. Architect Joe Sam Queen and builder Pat Burgin used native materials to create facilities that are both grand and informal. The Performing Arts Center on the Shelton Campus now contains the James Auditorium, a 255-seat traditional proscenium space named in honor of longtime supporters Phil and Loraine James, the Daniel and Belle Fangmeyer Theater, a 140 seat flexible performance space, and the 75-seat Feichter Studio Theatre, named in honor of HART founder’s Rex and Elisabeth Feichter.

The facility sits on an eight acre National Historic site owned by the Shelton House Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts. The 19th Century structures are open to the public and contain a vast treasure of work by artists from the region and beyond.